A lovers burn

Chapter eleven: the village

The group landed in a peaceful forest. The birds chirped, the water flowed, and the trees moved with every gust of wind. It was one of the calmer moments of their journey and none of them were taking it for granted. Esme laid out in a patch of grass that wasn't protected by the trees. She let the sun hit her face, warming her entire body. A soft grin covered her face as she breathed. She missed sunbathing. Sure she could do it while on Appa but it was never the same as being grounded to the earth, knowing what she had and never taking it for granted.

Her trance was broken by the sound of leaves crushing under footsteps. She opened her eyes and sat up, seeing Sokka had returned with food. Her stomach growled eagerly.

"Great, you're back. What's for dinner?" Aang Air bent over while Esme climbed onto the rock the rest of the group sat on.

Sokka opened the satchel and looked through it. "We got a few options. First, round nuts and some kind of oval-shaped nuts." Esme's face dropped, her stomach growling louder and louder.

Please tell me he's joking. She internally begged.

"Oh and some rock-shaped nuts. But those might just be rocks." He threw it behind his head. Momo lifted it up, banging it against his head. "Dig in."

"Seriously, what else you got?" Katara's voice fell flat. Sokka looked through the bag again but all hope for a good meal was fleeing Esme's mind. She was about to speak up when a loud rumble shook their campsite.

"The fuck?" She jumped to her feet, instantly going into a fighting stance.

"What was that?" Sokka asked, his voice raising in pitch. Another loud bang shook the camp and Esme sprung into action. She wasn't waiting to see what was causing such noises. "Shouldn't we run away from huge booms? Not towards them."

"Not this group we don't!" She hollered from the front. She practically left the rest of the group in the dust. Besides Aang. He always seemed to be faster than the rest.

The group arrived at a valley and Esme ushered them to hide behind a giant log. They all glanced over to see a young man. Lifting and smashing down a giant boulder.

"An earthbender," Katara said in awe.

"Let's go meet him." Aang nearly jumped out when Esme grabbed his wrist.

"Are you crazy? We don't know who he is." Esme whispered and yelled.

"Can't be worse than firebenders," Sokka mumbled. Esme's head snapped over to him, anger causing her eye to twitch. "I- I didn't mean you-" Sokka couldn't finish his statement due to his sister's politeness.

"Hello there, I'm Katara! What's your name" She called from in front of the log.

"Spirits!" Esme whispered, jumping over the log to keep her friend safe in case something was to happen. The boy gasped as he saw us, dropping the large boulder and sprinting away. He bent a large group of rocks, blocking the passage.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang shouted.

"I just wanted to say hi." Katara shrugged. Esme went over to the wall and began to climb out of the valley, so much for a peaceful day.

"Esme, where are you going?" Sokka asked. Esme turned to him, glancing back to make sure she didn't lose sight of the boy.

"He's got to be running somewhere. I'm hoping it's a town with actual food. If not, we need to make sure he's not alerting fire nation." She didn't wait for the answer and she watched the man. If her father taught her anything, it was how to stay hidden in the shadows.

Esme stood in the crowd, her mask covering the bottom half of her face. She listened to the speaker. "Tonight, tonight we take down the Fire Lord. Tonight we restore honor back to our nation. And now, we have a way in. Zulin, please." Esme's head perked up as she walked forward.